through the woods she carries you home
by HoldoutTrout
Summary: It would be moments before Regina bled out either way, and deep down Snow knew there wasn't time for help to come, not unless help could find them in the middle of the woods, in the dark.


It was too dark to see her hands, let alone the color on them, but Snow didn't need to. She'd spent enough time on the battlefield to recognize the sticky texture of blood. She pressed slippery hands down, trying to use a shoulder to wipe her face, trying to think, think, think-

A ragged gasp, a burbling sound, the sound of someone dying underneath her hands, and no, no, no, this could not happen. She was not going to lose Regina, not now, not now that she finally had her back-

It was so dark. She had a phone, somewhere, but she couldn't let up pressure. It would only be moments before Regina bled out either way, and deep down Snow knew there wasn't time for help to come, not unless help could find them in the middle of the woods, in the dark, not unless they also had magic, and Emma wasn't _here_ , wasn't-

She couldn't think about that. She had to come up with something else.

Another gasp.

"Stay with me," Snow said, bending down as if being closer would let her see Regina's eyes, but it was so dark, and all being closer did was let Snow hear more of the agony of a broken body.

There was no answer except a hand pressed against hers, sticky and weak. Snow couldn't read the gesture. Was it meant to show Regina was still fighting? To say that Snow should give up? To impart a final forgiveness?

"Damn it, Regina," Snow said. With no better idea, she looked up at where the sky must be, although it was overcast and there was only a hint of reflected light from the town-not enough to help her see, not enough-

Only there was a glimmer on her left, something moving, and Snow hesitated a moment because whatever had done this to Regina was still out here-but that didn't matter at the moment anyway.

"Help!" Snow called out. "Help us, please!"

The glimmer turned into a painfully bright light, and Snow's eyes slammed shut against it. "Please, she's hurt-"

"Oh my god," said a voice much closer than Snow would have thought, a young, female voice that sounded familiar, somehow. "Regina?"

Snow wrenched her eyes open and the light wasn't right on her face anymore, instead illuminating Regina, who was staring upward and breathing, still breathing, thank god, although she didn't seem to react much otherwise.

The woman fell to her knees next to Regina and turned to Snow for a second, and Snow's heart lurched-

"Lily," she breathed.

Lily ignored her, holding her hands out over Regina's body, over the wound, steady at first and then shaking and Lily pulled them back, her face twisted. "I can't-"

"Please," Snow said. "You have to help her."

Lily shook her head. "I can't. I can't-I need-"

She was gone, not in a dramatic puff of smoke, just gone, and Snow was plunged back into the darkness. She let out a sob. Around her, the night pressed back in. Snow would have expected Lily to leave her if she was the one on the ground, would have deserved to be left, but Regina had never wronged Lily and Lily would not just leave her, would she?

And then the light was back, Lily pulling Snow back and someone else-Maleficent, of course-bending down and pushing and Regina arched up off the ground and took a breath, a real breath, and then there was the sensation of falling and the world blinked out and reappeared around Snow.

It was disconcerting, to be one moment in the darkness of the forest and the next in a perfectly warm and cozy living room, even if it was one she'd never seen before. She only had time to register the shift before Mal and Regina appeared, Mal standing directly in front of her and Regina neatly deposited on the couch, the red of her blood contrasting with the room's muted blues and greys. She was unconscious, the gaping hole in her side wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Lily," Mal said, her voice tight but controlled, and Lily moved swiftly to her side, holding out her hand. Mal took it without looking and closed her eyes.

Power filled the air, thick and cloying. Magic that wasn't anything like Regina's, let alone Emma's light magic, but still strong, purposeful.

Light flickered over Regina, at first roiling sluggishly on the surface of her skin and then bathing her, soaking into her until Snow wanted to shield her eyes from the brightness, the room washing out into a grey haze.

When it faded a bit she could see Regina's chest rising and falling in a deep rhythm, still too pale, but whole.

Snow sank to the floor, letting out a breath, maybe the same breath she'd inhaled when Lily transported her here.

Mal and Lily both turned toward her as if they'd forgotten her, the same expression on both their faces. It was so clear to Snow that Lily was Mal's daughter from that one look that she shrank back from them.

Lily took a step toward her while Mal merely raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" Lily demanded.

Snow shook her head. "I don't know what it was-we were tracking something and then-"

She'd had a flashlight, had heard a noise from her left and swung around and the next thing she'd known the flashlight was ripped from her hands, flung against a tree and smashed. Regina had dropped her own light and raised her hands, purple magic already gathering, but too slowly. The beast, creature, _thing_ had been a blur and then Regina's light flickered and went out even as Snow collapsed at her side.

"It hit her when she tried to use magic on it," Snow said, feeling lightheaded. It was only now that the smell of blood caught up to her, and she gagged.

"Fast? Silver?" Mal asked.

Snow nodded.

Mal gave Lily a look and vanished in grey smoke.

Lily tilted her head at Snow and then turned, walking through an opening into a kitchen just beyond. Snow heard water running, then shut off, and Lily came back with a damp towel.

"There's a bathroom down the hall where you can clean yourself up." Her tone wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't as full of animosity as it might have been.

Snow glanced at Regina, still covered in blood.

Lily shook her head. "I'll take care of her."

Snow nodded and struggled to her feet, staggering down the hall and finding the bathroom on the right. She turned on the light with an elbow and was startled with her reflection-streaked with red, vivid against the bright white of the bathroom.

She scrubbed at herself as best she could, finally taking off her jacket and balling it up around the worst of the mess. It would have to do for now.

When she came back to the living room, Lily was sitting on the edge of the couch and dabbing gently at Regina's face, Regina's arms and hands already clean.

"Mal knew what that thing was, didn't she?" Snow said.

Lily snorted. "Mal knows a lot of things." It was meant to be a final statement, a warning to keep quiet, but Snow had never been great at letting things go.

"Do you know? What it is? Was it why you were out there?"

Lily shrugged. "It's why you were out there, right?"

Snow guessed that was true, but they hadn't known what it was or how fast it was. Now that she had seen it, sort of, what she thought it might be was _ridiculous_.

"Mal had one, apparently, as a pet. Not like this one. Small. Tame."

"Had one what?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably, as if she was embarrassed to say it out loud-and she wore the exact same look Emma used to get sometimes when she said 'Snow White' or 'Pinocchio.'

"A unicorn," she said finally, just as Mal reappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Mine was a baby," Mal said. "This one is old and more than half-mad-but I bridled it with silver so it won't rampage anymore tonight."

Lily rose and Mal sat in the space she'd vacated, smoothing a hand over Regina's forehead, a gentle caress that surprised Snow more than the idea of a real, live unicorn racing through their woods.

"We knew something was out there," Mal said. "That's why Lily was out looking for it tonight."

"Lucky for us," Snow said, looking at Lily properly for the first time. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it for you," Lily said, eyes blazing, mouth drawn in a scowl.

Snow met her gaze. "I know." After a long, long moment, Lily nodded and looked away.

Snow turned her attention back to Regina. She hadn't noticed, but Mal was still using magic on her, cleaning her up and taking care of the little scratches and some of the bruises that were already forming. Her movements were gentle, her hands moving against Regina's skin as if cataloging each inch.

"She should go to the hospital," Snow said. "She hit her head and she told me, once, that magic isn't great with head wounds." She winced as she said it, knowing Mal would know better than she did.

But Mal simply said, "Yes. She'll wake up in a couple of minutes and then we can move her."

Snow's heartbeat sped up. She dug into her pocket, only now thinking to check in, to let people know what happened, to maybe warn Dr. Whale. Her phone was relatively clean, all things considered, but it was cracked down the middle.

"Do you have a phone?"

Mal looked at Lily, who reached into her own pocket and pulled out a battered iPhone that had clearly seen better days. "I'll call the hospital and let them know you're coming," she said. Snow would have liked to call David, too, but Lily had already dialed and turned away.

Mal turned back to Regina and Snow took the opportunity to look at her. Her hair was down and she looked tired, drawn. Her forehead was wrinkled with concern, her gaze at once focused on Regina and looking past her.

Regina's head shifted, and Mal's focus sharpened immediately, not missing a single tiny movement as Regina's eyes fluttered open after a couple of false starts.

"Mal," she croaked out.

Mal's expression relaxed and she leaned forward, hand cradling Regina's head. "You're safe, little one."

"Snow?" she said, trying to turn her head, clearly in pain.

Snow held back a sob. "I'm here. Lily and Mal found us. They saved you."

Regina let her head loll back, her body sinking back into the cushions of the couch. "Fucking unicorns," she said.

Mal and Snow both laughed, although Snow's was wild and Mal's was a gentle and low huff of breath. Mal leaned forward and pressed her lips to Regina's, so quickly that Snow thought she'd imagined it.

"This one won't trouble you again. I put it in the garage."

Regina shifted again, pressed a hand against her side. "I don't know how it even got here," she said.

Maleficent shrugged. "Maybe that pirate smuggled it in on his ship."

"Even Hook isn't stupid enough to try transporting a unicorn," Regina said. "I wouldn't have tried tracking it down at night if I'd known what it was. I don't know what we'll do with it."

"Lily can tame it," Mal said."It'll be a good lesson for her."

"No fucking way," Lily said, returning to the room and sliding her phone back into her pocket. "Not after I just saw what it did to your girlfriend."

Snow blinked. "Girlfriend?"

All three of them stared at Snow, as if they'd forgotten she was there-which was exactly what had happened, Snow realized.

"Oh, I mean-" Lily started awkwardly.

"Don't bother." Regina was obviously exhausted. "Yes, girlfriend, for lack of a better term."

"I still like paramour," Mal said. "Or lover."

"For lack of a better term," Regina said, slightly more forcefully.

"Oh." Snow's mind whirled, remembering how quickly Mal had stepped in to help, remembering how she'd been tense until Regina woke up. "Oh," she said again, the knowledge settling into her, making sense in a way that overcame her initial surprise. It wasn't like Regina had kept her friendship with Mal a secret, just how deep it went, apparently.

Regina was watching Snow very carefully.

"Is the hospital expecting us now?" Maleficent said, ignoring Snow and what was likely a very stupid expression on her face.

This brought Regina's attention back to her. "I do not need a hospital."

"Snow said you hit your head, and she reminded us that magic doesn't do much for head wounds. You're going."

"No, I feel fine-" Regina protested, but Mal was already scooping her up, and Regina did not feel fine, because she let Mal pull her into her arms, and then the two of them were gone and Snow was left behind with Lily's eyes on her, hard and suspicious.

"They didn't want anyone to know," Lily said.

Snow nodded.

"So you better not say anything."

Snow nodded, then shook her head. "I won't-" she stopped and considered. "No, I won't," she said more firmly. "But I'm glad."

Lily considered her for a long moment. "Okay," she said finally. She held out a hand and Snow took it after a second's hesitation, bracing herself against the lurch of Lily transporting them both to where Mal and Regina were waiting.


End file.
